Review: Intel Core i5-4690K Devil's Canyon (22nm Haswell)

Take Two For Devil's Canyon

The much-anticipated release of Intel's Devil Canyon CPUs - Core i7-4790K and Core i5-4690K - was announced at this year's Computex trade show in early June.

Devil's Canyon refers to just these two processors. They're different from the incumbent K-series chips for two reasons. First off, they feature newer thermal interface material that is supposed to lower temperatures by providing a better conduit between core and heatspreader. Secondly, they accommodate extra capacitors that, Intel says, provide more stable voltage regulation at higher frequencies.

We've already taken a look at the range-topping Core i7-4790K. Though the fastest Haswell-based Core i7 we've tested, we found no real difference between its overclocking potential and that of those 4770K chips readily available in the channel. Perhaps our engineering-sample wasn't great at overclocking, or Devil's Canyon chips simply aren't the advancement we expected, but we thought it made sense to look at the second-rung model, the Core i5-4690K.

Desktop Intel 'Haswell' Feature Comparison

Intel Core i7-4790K

Intel Core i7-4770K

Intel Core i5-4690K

Intel Core i5-4670K

Intel Pentium G3258

Intel Pentium G3220

Launch Date

Q2 2014

Q2 2013

Q2 2014

Q2 2013

Q2 2014

Q3 2013

Cores

4

4

4

4

2

2

Threads

8

8

4

4

2

2

Unlocked multiplier

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

CPU Clock Speed

4.0GHz

3.5GHz

3.5GHz

3.4GHz

3.2GHz

3.0GHz

CPU Turbo Speed

4.4GHz

3.9GHz

3.9GHz

3.8GHz

-

-

Smart Cache

8 MB

8MB

6MB

6MB

3MB

3MB

TDP

88W

84W

88W

84W

53W

53W

DDR3 Memory Support

1,600

1,600

1,600

1,600

1,333

1,333

Integrated Graphics

HD 4600

HD 4600

HD 4600

HD 4600

HD

HD

IGP Execution Units

20

20

20

20

10

10

IGP Base Clock

350MHz

350MHz

350MHz

350MHz

350MHz

350MHz

IGP Max Clock

1.25GHz

1.25GHz

1.20GHz

1.20GHz

1.10GHz

1.10GHz

QuickSync Video

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Wireless Display

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

ClearVideo HD

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

InTru 3D

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Displays Supported

3

3

3

3

3

3

PCI Express Revision

3.0

3.0

3.0

3.0

3.0

3.0

PCI Express Configurations

Up to 1x16, 2x8, 1x8/2x4

Up to 1x16, 2x8, 1x8/2x4

Up to 1x16, 2x8, 1x8/2x4

Up to 1x16, 2x8, 1x8/2x4

Up to 1x16, 2x8, 1x8/2x4

Up to 1x16, 2x8, 1x8/2x4

Max PCI Express Lanes

16

16

16

16

16

16

Turbo Boost

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Hyper Threading

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

vPro

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

AES New Instructions

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Socket

LGA1150

LGA1150

LGA1150

LGA1150

LGA1150

LGA1150

US Box RRP

$340

$340

$242

$242

$72

$64

Trotting out the usual table shows there to be very minor differences between the 4690K and well-known 4670K. Both are priced at $242 (£170-ish in the UK) and feature four non-hyperthreaded cores. The only meaningful specification difference, as far as we can tell, is the higher clockspeed. Intel's meagre increase is reflected by an additional 100MHz on both standard and Turbo frequencies.

So why would you bother with this chip if you already have a Core i5? You wouldn't, really, and it's only a processor we'd recommend to enthusiasts looking to build a brand-new system. The clinching factor, of course, is just how well it overclocks, and we'll get to that in a moment.

What is the Intel Core i5-4690K? A slightly faster version of the chip that has been around for more than a year. Let's now cut to the benchmark chase.